The present invention is directed to educational toys and more particularly to such a toy in the form of a multipiece kit for teaching construction and recognition of predetermined shapes. Although a kit according to the invention may be utilized for teaching recognition and/or construction of almost any series of shapes, it is most advantageously directed toward teaching of letters of the alphabet, and/or numbers for example.
In accordance with the invention, a kit is provided comprising a series of elemental component pieces of predetermined sizes and shapes suitable for assembly in a variety of combinations to form predetermined shapes, especially letters of the alphabet. Each part which differs in size or shape from any other part is formed of a distinctively different color. Similarly, pieces which are identical in size and shape are formed of identical colors.
In a particularly advantageous form of the invention, intended for teaching recognition and construction of letters of the alphabet, a series of only fourteen elemental components, constituting seven distinctly different sizes and/or shapes of parts, are capable of being arranged and organized to form each of the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. By thus limiting the number of elemental components, a child of pre-school age is better able to cope with the management, location and arranging of the parts.
In a preferred form, the individual component elements of the kit are formed of magnetic material and are intended to be assembled and arranged on a board or plate which is also of magnetic material. The individual components may thus be held in arranged positions by a relatively low magnetic force so that the assembly of a multi-part form or letter may be more readily carried out.
Importantly, the educational kit of the invention includes means for illustrating some or all of the various forms that may be created by assembly of the elemental components. Such illustrations, which are most advantageously in the form of individual cards, with one illustration per card, show the desired form as an assembly of the individual components, with each being illustrated in its own distinctive color, so that the child is able to select the necessary components by shape and/or color recognition, or a combination thereof.
To particular advantage, each illustration of a form, capable of creation by assembly of the elemental components, has associated therewith a separate code presentation, referred to herein as a dot code. The dot code is comprised of one or more colored "dots", related to the number and types of elemental components required to make up the illustrated letter or other form. The number of parts of each distinctive color is represented by an equal number of "dots" of that same color. Accordingly, a child may select the appropriate number and type of parts to assemble an illustrated letter exclusively by reference to the dot code, if desired.
In a preferred form of the invention, the kit includes a stow-away board provided with a plurality of individually contoured recesses of a size and shape to receive the various elemental components in a neat, coordinated manner. Desirably, the stow-away board may form part of a hinged carrying case. When closed, the case contains all of the components of the kit. When open, it may provide a magnetic working board and/or a convenient device for display of the illustration cards or the like.
For a more complete understanding of the above and other features and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention and to the accompanying
drawings.